Knockdown coop or crate.



A. J. THUNEMANN.

KNOGKDOWN COOP 0R GBATE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.14, 1914.

eye-eye? Patented Feb. 23, 1915.

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llVVE/VTOR ALE/N JOHN We a/vA-MAN/v A. J. THUNEMANN.

. KNOOKDOWN COOP 0B. OR'ATE.

APBLIOATIONIILED APR.14, 1914;

1 1 7590 Patented Febn23,1915.

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I WITNESSES INVENTOR pniirn AL'BIN JOHN THUNEMANN, OF DEFIANCE, OHIO.

KNOCKDOWN COOP OR CRATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 23, 1915.

Application filed April 14, 1914. Serial No. 831,735.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that l, AnuIN Jonx TirUNn- MANN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Defiance, in the county of Defiance and State of ()hio, have invented a new and Tmprovcd Knockdown Coop or Crate, of whidh the following is a full,

clear, and exact description.

The object of theinvention is to provide a new and improved knock-down coop or crate, more especially designed as an exhibition or transportation coop for chickens and other animals, but also'serviceable as a crate for storing and shipping merchandise and the like.

Inorder to accomplish the desired result, use is made of a front, a back, sides, a top and a bottom, the said front, sides and back being connected one with the other by hinges, and the said top being hinged to the upper end of the said back to fold upon one face thereof, and the said bottom being hinged to the lower end of the said back to fold upon the other face of the said back. Use is also made of an openwork front having a rigid frame, sets of spaced bars attached to the top and bottom members of. the said frame, the sets being spaced apart to form an entrance to the coop, and a sliding door or a gate for closing the said entrance, the gate having a bottom bar slidably engaging adjacent bars of the said sets of bars, spaced vertical door bars held on the said bottom bar and provided at their upper ends with angular lugs adapted to engage the free end of the hinged top to hold the latter normally against upward movement, the upper member of'the said frame having guideways for the said vertical gate bars to slide in.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters ofreference indi cate corresponding parts in all the. views.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the coop with the parts in extended position andthe door in the front partly open: Fig. 2 is a sectional perspective view of one upper front corner of the front and one side with the top removed ,Fig. 3 isa like view of one upper rear corner of one side and the back, 7

the tip of the coop being folded upon the outside of the back; Fig. 4 is a'side elevation of the coop with the parts in knockdown position; Fig. 5 is a cross section of the coop with the parts in extended position; Fig. (3 is a sectional plan view of the same on the line 66 of Fig. 5; and Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the'holding bar adapted to be fastened to the front to hold the bottom of the coop against upward moven'ient and to form a guard at the front lower end to prevent the chickens from scratching straw out through'the openwork of the front of the coop.

The knock-down coop in its general construction consists of a bottom A, a top B, a front C, a back D and sides E and F. The right-hand edge of the front C is connected by a hinge G with the forward end of the side E, the rear edge ofwhich is connected by a hinge .G with a flange D extending forwardly from the back D, as plainly indicated in Figs. 1, 4 and 6. The left-hand edge of the back D is connected by a hinge G 'with'the rear edge of the side F, and the front edge of the latter is connected by a hinge G with a transversely extending flange C formed on the left-hand edge of the front By providing the hinges G, G, G and G the front C, the back D and the sides E and F can be readily folded into a flat handle, as plainly indicated in Fig. 4, the flanges C and D permitting fiat folding of the parts. The bottom A has its rear edge connected by a hinge G with the lower end of'the back D to permit of folding the bottom A onto the inner face of the back D. The upper end of the back D is connected by a hinge G with the rear edge of the top B to permit of folding'the said top B onto the outer face of the back D, as plainly indicated in Fig. 4.

A bottom A is provided along its margin with upwaidly-extending flanges A thus forminga shallow tray, and the said bottom when in extended position rests on a ledge formed by angle irons H held on the lower ends of the'front C, back D and sides E and F to reinforce the said "parts besides forming a support for the bottom A. The

top B is provided with downwardly-extending marginal flanges B adapted to rest on a ledge formed by angle 1rons I held on the upper ends of the front C, back D and the out onmitered at the hinges G, G, Gr and lie to permit folding of the several parts,

it'being understood that theflanges C, D

J attached to the inner face of the front C at the lower end thereof by the use'of bolts J t, the nuts of which are preferably inthe form of wing nuts to permit of conveniently "disconnecting the bolts J from the front- C whenever it is desired to remove the bar J prior to collapsing the coop or crate. The lower edge J 3 of the holding bar J is slightly set off, as plainly indicated in Figs. 5 and 7, to fit against the inner face of the front flange A of the bottom A'to securely hold the said bottom A against upward movement. i r

The bottom A, top B, back 1) and sides E and F are preferably made of sheet metal while the front C is of open-Work type and is preferably formed with a rigid frame, to the bottom and top members of which are secured sets of vert ical bars 0 the sets beingspaced apart to form an entrance to the coop. This entrance is adapted to be closed by a door formed of a bottom bar C .mounted to slide vertically'on the adjacent, bars C atthe sides of the entrance, and from the said bottom bars C extend upwardly a number of bars C mounted to slide in guideways C formed on the upper frame member of the front C. The upper ends of the bar C are providedwith rearwardly-extending arms C adapted to rest on the upper surface of the top B at the time the door is closed so as to hold the top B down in position to prevent the 'top from being accidentally swung upward'into open position.

The interior of the coop is provided with a support K for a water orfeed trough or vessel, and this support K is preferably made of wire bent into ring or loop shape. the ends terminating in arms K journaled in bearings L formed onthe plate L at tached to the inner-face of the front 0 a distance above the lower edge thereof so as to hold the support K the proper height above the bottom. A when the coop is in use. The arms K terminate in stop lugs K v 1 adapted to abutlagainst the front face of the plate L at the time the support K extends in horizontal position to hold the said support K in this position. When itis desired to knock down the coop the holder K is swung upward and folded against the inner face of the front C so as to take up very little room, without interfering with the folding of the part as previously explained. The top frame member of the front is provided at its outer face with a number of studs. N to permit of conveniently tying shipping tags and the like to the coop.

From the foregoing it will be seen that by the arrangement described an exceedingly strong and durable coop or crate is provided which can be conveniently and quickly knocked down into a comparatively fiat bundle or readily extended for receiving chickens and other animals, or merchandise if desired.

Having thus described my invention; I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A. knock-down coop or crate, comprising a front, a back, sides, a top and a bottom, the said front, sides and back being connected one with the other by hinges and the said top being hinged to the upper end of the said back to fold upon one face'thereof, and the said bottom being hinged to the lower end of the said back to fold upon the other face of the said back, the said front having a sliding door provided with means for engaging the free end of the top to hold the latter normally against upward movement.

2. A knock-down coop or crate, comprising a front, a back, sides, a top and a bottom, the said front, sides and back being connected one with'the other by hinges and the said top being hinged to the upper end of the said back to fold upon one face thereof, and the said bottom being hinged to the lower end of the said back to fold upon the other face of the said back, and a bar removably attached to the inner face of the front, the lower edge of said bar being offset to engage the front end of the said bottom to hold the latter against upward movement.

3. A knock-down coop or crate, comprising a front, a back, sides, a top and a bottom, the said front, sides and back being connected one with the other by hinges and the said top being hinged to the upper end of the said back to fold upon one face thereof, and the said bottom being hinged to the lower end of the said back to fold upon the other face of the said back, the said front having a vertically slidable door provided at the upper end with rearwardly-extending arms adapted to rest on the said top to hold the latter against upward movement.

A knock-down coop or'crate, comprising a front, a back, sides, a top and a bottom, the said front, sides and back being connected one with the other by hinges and the said top being hinged to the upper end of the said back to fold upon one face thereof, and the said bottom being hinged to the lower end of the said back to fold upon the wardly-extending ledges for the said bottom to rest on, and a bar fitting against the inner face of the lower end of the said front, the bar having an oflset lower edge engaging the front flange of the said bottom, and bolts for removably fastening the said bar to the said front.

5. A knock-down coop or crate, comprising'a front, a back, sides, a top and a bottom,'the said front, sides and back being connected one with the other by hinges and the said top being hinged to the upper end of the said back to fold upon one face thereof, and the said bottom being hinged to the lower end of the said back to fold upon the other face of the said back, the said front' having a rigid frame, sets of spaced vertical bars attached to the top and bottom members of the frame, the sets being spaced apartto form an entrance to the coop; and

a sliding door for closing the said entrance,,

the door having a bottom bar slidingly engaging the adjacent bars of the said sets of bars, and spaced vertical door bars extending from the said bottom bar and terminat; ing attheir upper ends in angular lu gs adapted to engage the said top to -hold the latter down, the upper 'frame' member having guideways in Which-slide the said vertical door bars.-

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of 

